Meet&CoWASHINGTON — Sales at furniture and home furnishings stores experienced a modest uptick in September, aligning with broader industry trends, though the segment saw less growth compared to other retail sectors.
According to the CNBC/NRF Retail Monitor, which tracks core retail sales (excluding sectors like restaurants, automobile dealerships, and gas stations), there was a slight decline of 0.49% in September compared to August. However, the year-over-year comparison showed a 5.72% increase. In contrast, August had seen a 0.26% month-over-month increase and a 6.67% rise year-over-year.
For the furniture and home furnishings category specifically, September sales dipped by 1.87% on a seasonally adjusted basis from the previous month, though they saw a modest 0.56% growth year-over-year when unadjusted for seasonality.
Matthew Shay, President and CEO of the National Retail Federation (NRF), suggested that consumers may have taken a pause in spending in September after two strong months of back-to-school shopping. “Given the ongoing economic uncertainty, consumers appear to be conserving their purchasing power as they prepare for the crucial holiday shopping season,” he explained.
The Retail Monitor, which uses anonymized credit and debit card purchase data from Affinity Solutions, provides an alternative view to the Census Bureau’s retail surveys.
Overall, retail sales for the first three quarters of the year were up 5.12% year-over-year, with core sales seeing a 5.32% increase.
September sales were generally strong across most categories, with all but one (building and garden supply stores) showing yearly growth. Notable increases were seen in digital products, sporting goods, and clothing stores. On a month-to-month basis, however, five out of nine categories experienced declines.
Key highlights from other retail sectors in September include:
Digital products (such as e-books and video games) saw a 0.52% monthly increase seasonally adjusted and a robust 21.35% rise year-over-year.
Sporting goods, hobby, music, and book stores recorded a 0.74% increase month-over-month, seasonally adjusted and an 8.81% growth year-over-year.
Clothing and accessories stores were down 1.06% from August but saw a year-over-year increase of 7.35%.
General merchandise stores declined by 0.62% month-over-month seasonally adjusted but rose 5.52% year-over-year.
Grocery and beverage stores experienced a slight drop of 0.76% month-over-month, but year-over-year sales were up by 4.79%.
Health and personal care stores showed growth, with a 0.38% increase month-over-month and a 4.65% rise year-over-year.
Electronics and appliance stores had a small decline of 0.12% month-over-month but posted a 4.43% year-over-year increase.
Building and garden supply stores saw a 0.53% increase from August but experienced a slight decline of 1.2% compared to the previous year.
